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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23318317">The Adventures of Little Kitten and Kuro-mare</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittencandyuchiha/pseuds/kittencandyuchiha'>kittencandyuchiha</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Malabava/pseuds/Malabava'>Malabava</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>CLAMP - Works, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fairy AU, Fluffy, M/M, Slow Burn, eventual kurofai, past trauma</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 15:35:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,335</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23318317</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittencandyuchiha/pseuds/kittencandyuchiha, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Malabava/pseuds/Malabava</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kurogane has been the guardian of this forest longer then the humans have been in existence and he rarely saw the pesky creatures... Especially not one this small... Eventual KuroFai.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Fay D. Fluorite &amp; Kurogane, Fay D. Fluorite/Kurogane</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Adventures of Little Kitten and Kuro-mare</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Kurogane had never been one to pay humans much mind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was not particularly fond of them as some of his fellow fae folk were—he did not find them hopelessly cute or annoyingly charming—and he lived apart from them because they were more often than not—pests. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He lived deep in the forest and therefore, thankfully rarely encountered them these days. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Every few decades, a lost hunter or brave traveler would wander past his home—and Kurogane more or less ignored them. Few humans were able to see him or his humble home unless he willed it. They would wander off as suddenly as they had come and that would be that. He led a quite practical life while looking after the weaker fae in the area, enjoying the peace the seclusion offered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Because of that seclusion, Kurogane honestly could not remember the last time he had seen a human child. Humans tended to be careless at best with their children—though they usually kept enough off an eye on them that little ones did not make it this deep into the forest. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This</span>
  </em>
  <span> grubby tot’s parents had passed careless. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kurogane had woken and immediately noticed the lack of ambient noise that usually hummed and danced between the trees. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>No birds. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>No animals. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>No fae. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It did not take long for him to pinpoint the cause of the disturbance and he found himself staring down at an exhausted, unkempt and alarmingly small human child. The pathetic creature had curled itself into a tight ball at the base of the largest of the ancient oak trees and if not for the fact that he could still sense the child’s life force, Kurogane would have assumed the stripling dead. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy’s skin was glassy and precariously pale—dirt and grime covered his clothes and his tangled hair was matted with twigs and leaves. The child wore no shoes and his feet were caked in mud and dappled with cuts and scrapes.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The child’s eyes were closed and his breathing even enough that Kurogane assumed he had fallen asleep where he had dropped— too tired to even find proper shelter for the night. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Given the boy’s neglected appearance and gaunt frame, it was obvious that he had been lost in the forest for some time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kurogane stood there and watched him for a few moments as he weighed his options. As much as he hated to interfere—if no one came for the child soon, he would be leading him to the Otherworld or back to his people—and he preferred to stay as far away from the Otherworld as was possible these days. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was nothing he could do while the boy slept—if he woke at all, things would be handled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Keeping busy was never an issue, but Kurogane could not help but be annoyed at the tense atmosphere that chased away the usual peace of his home. Such a small discomfort was brushed off—Even without the forest’s natural magic to listen to, the work got done all of the same and the human kitten slept—and slept—and slept. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The lesser fae eventually wandered back into the area once summoned and it only cost him a bit of honey to find out that the boy had indeed been wondering about the woods for some time… and that no humans from the city had entered the forest to search for the lost little one. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Every time the Nightmare would wander over to the ancient oak, he would find the child just the same. As night was approaching, Kurogane left a few fruits and nuts next to the boy to hopefully notice and eat, should he wake. A few hours past sunset, he ended up sitting in one of the larger, low hanging branches of the tree to keep an eye on him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was not usually in his nature to interfere—but he would not let any unruly members of his household harm the tot. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Morning came and still, the kitten did not so much as twitch, and according to the lesser fae—still, no one was looking for the boy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The little human child finally opened his eyes when Kurogane was starting to believe he never would. The soft sound of shifting grass drew his attention and red eyes narrowed in on the small boy as he slowly pushed himself up on shaking arms and leaned back against the tree, drawing his knees to his chest and slowly taking in his surroundings. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>For one so young and in such a poor state, the tiny blond was alarmingly calm. Those icy blue eyes became leery as the boy squinted in Kurogane’s general direction. They watched long and hard. Kurogane was almost sure he could be seen when the sound of leaves rustling in the distance drew the boy’s attention away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Interestingly enough, the immediate area was again devoid of life—the Piskies, Browneys, Spriggans, and miscellaneous Sprites had all vanished as soon as the kitten had roused. The Eeòin had silenced their songs and were watching carefully while the Bathaichean hunkered down, concealed from the child’s sight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>While the weaker Fae folk and mortal animals that hung around might have reason to fear a human—even a weak child such as this—Kurogane had no need to be wary. He remained still for a few moments longer and watched the boy hug his knees a little tighter as he inspected the food that had been stacked neatly next to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kurogane found himself frowning when the child simply settled his head down on top of his knees, sniffled spiritlessly and closed his eyes. He had never known a human—let alone a starving human—to reject a meal like that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Odd, for someone so new to life to have lost all will to live. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It did not sit right with him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kurogane strode forward with slow steps—he did not expect the boy’s eyes to shoot back open and focus again in his direction with a cautious squint. When he was only a stone’s throw away from the boy, squinted eyes widened with fear and Kurogane slowed to a stop. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was very well aware that his appearance terrified most grown men and unfortunately there was not much he could do about that. Dark matter wafting around a giant frame, antlers on a dark head and clawed, deep black hands did not scream warm and friendly—definitely not to a human child. Kurogane was fully prepared for the blond to scream, run or freeze and was happy not to have to chase the kitten down again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chasing him out of the woods would take far longer than leading him to the forest’s edge—so he kept his distance and gave the boy a moment to process. When the sprout finally started to blink again, Kurogane slowly sat down in an attempt to soft-pedal the feelings of fear and danger. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are lost?” Kurogane spoke tactfully, paying attention to keep his volume down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As soon as the words left his mouth, the child averted his eyes down and squeezed his limbs more closely to his body. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a silent reminder to himself to keep his patience, Kurogane waited to see if the stripling might be trying to gather his words. The silence only persisted and the boy only seemed to grow more fearful of the Nightmare. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kurogane had no choice but to press. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will lead you out.” He hoped that the offer of assistance would restore a bit of hope, but the child did not react aside from keeping his gaze downcast as he glanced about anxiously. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After waiting for a few more moments, that reaction did not change and Kurogane clenched his jaw and swallowed his sigh. Humans were infuriating, but he could not get mad at a child for being too fearful to speak. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>If he understood what Kurogane was saying, at all… Given how many years it had been since he had last spoken to a human, it was quite possible their dialect had changed or the local town had been overthrown by foreign armies.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was nothing he could do about that and given how fearful the kitten was—there was no way for him to discern any sort of understanding there may be. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eat. I will lead you back tomorrow morning.” Kurogane motioned to the food that he had placed within reach of the boy before he had awoken and watched as panic-stricken eyes glanced quickly at the fruit before looking away again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He would need his strength to get back to the human town and Kurogane would prefer not to carry him even if he was just a tiny thing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Nightmare again waited until he was sure he was not going to get a response from the boy. There was nothing left to say—They would not have time to make it to the town on foot before nightfall and the child was weak. He would leave him to eat in peace and check up on him later. Climbing gracefully to his feet—the Nightmare turned his back and left.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The fae folk did not return to the clearing until the human tot had nodded back off to sleep. Kurogane was satisfied at seeing that the food had been touched, though not finished, and that his guest was again sleeping.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Come morning, the child awoke with the rising of the sun and Kurogane watched him eat the remainder of the food cautiously while surveying the clearing as though he expected to be scolded or punished.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had again taken to resting in one of the low hanging branches above the boy and so his presence went unnoticed. The child yelped in alarm when Kurogane finally jumped down from his perch to land on his feet in front of the boy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ice blue eyes grew so wide Kurogane was sure they might pop out of the poor kitten’s skull. He had not meant to frighten him and he was again thankful that the skittish child did not bolt. Wordlessly, Kurogane approached him and as soon as he took the first step, blue eyes focused on his feet and the boy held deathly still.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You live in the village?” the Nightmare knelt in front of the child and held out his hand. The boy glanced up at Kurogane’s expression for a fraction of a moment before being lowered to focus on the clawed hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>While he had not ventured out of the forest in nearly half a decade, there had at one time been farms that surrounded the village, many of which butted up to the forest. It was not impossible for a child from one of the farms to have gotten lost… but the village was the more likely conclusion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy continued to hesitate and Kurogane did not push him and simply waited for an answer as he held his hand out. While the kitten had been sleeping, he had taken the time to get a better look at the child’s bare feet and was not confident he could stand or walk, given the number of cuts and blisters that dappled the bottom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kurogane was almost sure the boy was not going to move at all when an incredibly small, shaking hand was placed within his own. Hoisting the boy up took no effort on his part and he released the child’s hand as soon as he was sure he was not going to fall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once he was up on his feet, it was obvious to see how small the child really was and Kurogane started to second guess his assumption that the boy would be able to make it back out of the forest on his own two feet, but given the human’s current level of anxiety, the Nightmare doubted that the child would take well to being carried. If it proved to be too tough of a commute, he would do what he needed to do.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With still no answer as to where the child lived—Kurogane started leading them towards the human dwelling. After he had taken the first few steps, he looked back to see if the kitten would follow him, but as soon as it clicked with the boy that Kurogane was leaving, he had hurried to catch up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The child remained silent the entire journey—no complaints about raw feet—no questions as to where they were going… the human tot followed quickly behind Kurogane, keeping his eyes focused on the Nightmare’s feet to know where he should go next.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was past midday by the time the trees started to thin and give way to the pastures that lined either side of the road that led to the town. Kurogane had planned to walk the boy far enough up the road to see the town to ensure he did not end up lost again, but Fai stopped in the center of the road parallel with the last tree.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kurogane did not notice the boy had stopped dead in his tracks until he heard a knifelike whine and looked over his shoulders to see the boy obviously terror-stricken.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The village is this way.” Kurogane gestured up the road and turned back to watch the boy cower down, crumpling onto his bottom and pulling his knees up to his chest while he wrapped his arms around them, making himself impossibly small.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Nightmare frowned at such an odd reaction. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Should this mortal child not want to be with his peers? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He could not see how bad the kitten had started shaking until he knelt down next to him and Kurogane’s brows furrowed in confusion. He did not dare touch the boy, and without knowing the reason for the sudden discomposure, there was little he could do in the way of comfort.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not that Kurogane knew the first thing about comforting such a young thing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Though he was not able to see the child’s face, given how tightly he had curled up on himself—the quickened breathing and telltale sniffling made it obvious that he was crying. Kurogane was not the best at understanding some of the more outlandish emotions humans expressed—but he understood fear well enough. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is wrong?” Kurogane must have sounded harsher than he had meant to because the boy flinched and somehow managed to curl himself even smaller. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Nightmare gave him time to calm down and tried to puzzle out what was the cause of the boy’s distress. The only logical answer was going back to the village. Perhaps the child was afraid of someone in the village? Perhaps he had been mistreated by the village as a whole and had wandered away intentionally? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It would not be the first time an outcast had sought refuge in his forest—or been chased away by their fellow menfolk. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Never one so young, though.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What could a tiny kitten like this possible have done to either flee willingly or unwillingly to the woods? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Whatever the reason, the child was not going to walk the rest of the way there on his own and Kurogane had no intention of waltzing into the middle of a human city with a sobbing kitten fighting him all the way. He had never been any good at illusion magic—and going in without at least trying to look a bit more human would not end well for either of them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Humans were odd about children who encountered Fae… </span>
</p><p>
  <span>No—if he had to force the child to return to his kind, he would have to seek aid for a proper glamor and spend time trying to find the boy’s guardians so they could ensure he did not get lost again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kurogane took a deep breath and reminded himself to speak softly as he gathered his words. The child had only managed to work himself up further and he did not need a full-blown tantrum on his hands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You do not wish to return home.” The boy shook his head again and Kurogane’s expression darkened. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As he feared. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Humans were meant to be with other humans and if the child could not go back to the village, then it left him with the task of finding the kitten a new home. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where do you want to go?” Surely, even if the boy had fled his home, he had not done so without a destination in mind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Had he gotten lost on his way? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The child lifted his head, and his icy eyes were full of mistrust and disbelief. He appraised Kurogane as though he were waiting for some sort of cruel joke to be revealed and when he was only met with patient silence, he looked down at the ground and pursed his lips. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The human’s voice was soft and the single word that tumbled from his lips was little more than a mumbled plea. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Speak up, child. Where would you like to go?” Kurogane watched the boy’s jaw lock in frustration and a few new tears slid down his reddened cheeks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...Me…” his second attempt was still hushed and timid. Kurogane had heard field mice muster more bravado and what the boy </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>managed made little sense. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Me? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are right here.” Kurogane tried to clarify and the child nodded as though he understood and whispered the word again. “You want to stay right here?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fai shook his head quickly and unfurled his limbs, moving closer to the Nightmare as though he thought that Kurogane was going to disappear that very second. “...No… me... “ </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There had to be a communication barrier. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kurogane let the boy come as close as he pleased and tried to piece together what he was trying to say. He had no reference when it came to how old the human kitten might be—but he had assumed old enough to speak considering how far he had managed to wander on his own. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where is ‘me’?” He had to be missing something and he truly hoped the boy would manage to clarify. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kurogane watched tears start to well in the boy’s eyes again. While he did not curl into another tight ball, he did wrap his arms protectively around his stomach. His reply came in a choked sob, but the Nightmare more or less understood the simple sentence—again only two words.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mama took.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kurogane internally sighed but kept a perfectly natural expression as he nodded in understanding and let the child cry. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Obviously, finding himself in the Nightmare’s domain had been the least of this boy’s worries. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kurogane did not move away and did not offer any contact. He simply waited for the boy to return back to a calm enough state to hear his words.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>‘Me’ was more than likely a person—a nickname, perhaps. It mattered not for his purposes. The boy would need care while someone sought out the child’s mother and pieced together where he would take him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Currently, where the human would spend the night was all that mattered. He would either have to swallow his fear and go back to his village or choose to follow the fae back into the forest… </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But one so young belonged with their own kind—with their mother, especially. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Will your mother return to the village?” Kurogane held his hand out to the child as he had before and thankfully, he took ahold of it almost immediately. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As he was hoisted to his feet, the blond whispered an inaudible answer—the Nightmare assumed the word was ‘no’, given how the boy also shook his head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kurogane stepped past the blond and headed down the path that led deeper into the forest and the child hurried after him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The fact, that a human child would be so terrified of whatever awaited them amongst their own kinfolk that they would follow a Nightmare back into the thickest of forests without so much as a second thought, spoke for itself. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>*Slides whimsical new story to you all knowing damn well that I have a lot of WIP's that need finishing* </p><p>I don't have much to say with this one other then I hope it doesn't bug you that I am going to mash lore and mythology from all over the world together in this au because I can. Malabava and I don't remember exactly how we came up with this one? but we got really excited about it and worked out the first bit and decided to stay focused on our main projects for now. </p><p>Weeeeeell I need a break from the higher-level writing and just wanted something fluffy, fun, and nice. </p><p>I thought about explaining all the mythology the first part of this story comes from here in the author's notes. Let me know if that is something you guys may be interested in. </p><p>As always thank you for all your support and let me know what you think! </p><p>Check out <a href="https://kyoko0001.tumblr.com/">my Tumblr</a> and <a href="https://malabava.tumblr.com/">Malabava's Tumblr</a> here for tons of cool CLAMP related content.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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